Alcove

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT ALCOVE - PAGE 2

A stepped-gable roof line and sheltered entry alcove add eye appeal to this contemporary plan. It offers affordable living space for a family in only 1,295 square feet, plus a patio for outdoor activities. Horizontal board siding, cedar shingles and a wide brick chimney lend custom touches. Offered by Piercy & Barclay Designers Inc., blueprints are available for plan ILC 104-A (without basement) or plan ILC 104-D (with basement). A generously sized living and dining area, brightened with wide front windows and a fireplace, opens off the entry hall.

President Bill Clinton soon will know about the Lincoln Park Zoo. At the Pritzker Children's Zoo's new Conservation Center, which will open Wednesday, children can will be able to drop Clinton a line about the zoo. "The lesson we're teaching is that we can all make a difference in our own destinies, if we only make our voices heard," says Susan Shugerman, program manager of the Pritzker Children's Zoo. Children will also be encouraged to...

Westfield Development Corp., developer of the Pembrook community in north suburban Gurnee, announced sales are underway from floor plans for 20 multifamily homes, known as the Townhomes of Pembrook. Three homestyles in rustic New England, Tudor and Colonial exteriors, priced from $59,900 to $69,900, are being introduced for this new phase of development. Currently, Pembrook includes 119 single-family homes and 140 condominium units. The new townhouses will offer ranch and two-story plans with attached garages.

MY NEIGHBOR MEDITATES religiously, and she nearly glows with an inner peace. When I see her I'm often hurrying down the sidewalk with a dog and a boy and a red wagon brimming with grocery bags. I'll pause and she'll talk serenely while the retriever wraps his leash around my knees, my child zips toward the street and the groceries spill onto the sidewalk. As I do damage control, I realize I have no clue what my neighbor's saying. Yes, I think, with inner peace, I could focus on a one-minute conversation.

Model homes are under roof at Harper's Woods in west suburban Winfield, where 26 of the 42 available townhouses have been sold since sales began in late fall. Developed by Harper's Woods Inc., the community offers five floor plans priced from $90,900 to $107,900. Small clusters of homes, enhanced by basements and fireplaces, are situated in a wooded setting. A two-bedroom ranch with an attached garage, the A Unit is priced from $90,900. An adjoining kitchen and breakfast area has an option for a serving bar that opens to the living and dining room.

Model homes are under roof at Harper's Woods in west suburban Winfield, where 26 of the 42 available townhouses have been sold since sales began in late fall. Developed by Harper's Woods Inc., the community offers five floor plans priced from $90,900 to $107,900. Small clusters of homes, enhanced by basements and fireplaces, are situated in a wooded setting. A two-bedroom ranch with an attached garage, the A Unit is priced from $90,900. An adjoining kitchen and breakfast area has an option for a serving bar that opens to the living and dining room.

Model homes are under roof at Harper's Woods in west suburban Winfield, where 26 of the 42 available townhouses have been sold since sales began in late fall. Developed by Harper's Woods Inc., the community offers five floor plans priced from $90,900 to $107,900. Small clusters of homes, enhanced by basements and fireplaces, are situated in a wooded setting. A two-bedroom ranch with an attached garage, the A Unit is priced from $90,900. An adjoining kitchen and breakfast area has an option for a serving bar that opens to the living and dining room.

The Cultual Center of the Chicago Public Library was showing the Zeffirelli film "La Traviata" in the fourth-floor theater. The usual, motley collection of young, old, fashionable and hopeless people at such free entertainments was waiting to be let in. Near the telephone alcove, where a bulky man in a stained, frayed coat was guarding several fat shopping bags, someone was lecturing to a companion on the great transformations of opera to film....

Clover Ridge West, the new apartment community in northwest suburban Palatine, offers some special advantages over its sister complex, Clover Ridge East. The units, set in a circle with a courtyard, provide the privacy of a single-family home. At the same time, renters have access to the health center and pavilion in the Clover Ridge East complex. Of special interest are the two bedroom units at Clover Ridge West. They include a variety of features usually found in only the most expensive units--yet have a moderate price tag. With courtyard side units set at $650 per month and non-courtyard units at $10 less, the two-bedroom models offer a patio or balcony.

Jose Cuellar kept a promise early Tuesday that he made seven years ago when his wife, Rosa, was gravely injured in a car accident. His white pants spattered with mud, Cuellar knelt in the cold rain before the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines and prayed for her continued health. "I am compelled" to do it, said Cuellar of Chicago, nodding toward the shrine to the Virgin Mary. There is no rain date for this famous holy day when the Virgin of Guadalupe is said to have appeared before a peasant named Juan Diego in 1531 on a hill near Mexico City.